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Maker Movement Fuels Apps, Robots, And Internet Of Things

The Maker Movement, where inventors, tinkerers, and entrepreneurs test and realize new ideas, is gaining momentum. In the process, long-standing traditions are melding with fast-emerging technologies, resulting in myriad new innovations.

The inaugural MakerCon conference, produced by Maker Media and hosted by OracleOracle in Redwood City, Calif., on May 13 and 14, featured 44 sessions and nearly 100 speakers. A few days later, the 2014 Maker Faire, now in its ninth year and also produced by Maker Media, took place in San Mateo, where over 130,000 enthusiasts, dreamers, and others explored the latest in technology, science, arts, crafts, engineering, food, and sustainability.

The Maker Movement has precedent in American history, going back to the arts and crafts movement of the early 20th century, the Do it Yourself (DIY) phenomenon of the 1960s, and, after that, Silicon Valley’s outburst of big ideas and technologies. Maker Media CEO Dale Dougherty describes Maker Faire as “a small-scale World’s Fair” and a “science fair on steroids,” with everything from homemade fashions to robots and 3D printers.

A convergence of forces—including virtual communities, enhanced visualization, and new software capabilities and applications—is fueling the Maker Movement, which is branching out from Northern California across the US and to Europe and East Asia. Several hundred thousand people participate in maker activities each year.

The newer MakerCon event aims to “celebrate makers and making,” highlight innovation and ingenuity, explore the potential of tools and technology, and “visualize the future”—all with an emphasis on new product demonstrations.

MakerCon, Photo: Oracle

The MakerCon Innovation Showcase on May 13 was a lively get-together, where some 36 makers demoed their creations. Several makers in the hardware accelerator area had just launched a day earlier on Kickstarter. The demos included:

ShotStats Challenger, a smart tennis racket app. After several years as a management consultant, founder Lavie Sak decided to return to the game–coaching, playing, and launching ShotStats to bring innovation to tennis.

Quitbit, a “smart lighter” and app. The combo helps people quit smoking by recording how many times they have a cigarette.

Modio lets people design, make, and modify pose-able characters and print them using a desktop 3D printer. “It’s a library of character parts with a simple drag-and-drop interface,” said Modio’s Wayne Losey. “You can select colors and alter the surface texture of each part to completely customize your creation.”

LightUp, a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) learning platform, teaches children about electricity. A 12-year-old can go all the way from building their first circuit to creating an internet-connected device.

At Proto Labs’ booth, Marketing Program Manager Sarah Braun was showing products created by participants in the company’s “Cool Idea!” program, which awards grants to create functional parts for prototyping, design iterations, testing, and production. Innovations have ranged from a smartphone breathalyzer to a rugged wheelchair to a self-serve beer system.

IntelIntel participated in the MakerCon Innovation Showcase, too. Intel is encouraging young people “who are not self-identified as strong at science and technology to understand that there are many things they can do,” said Jay Melican, Maker Czar at Intel. “In the last few years, we have slowly exposed people to tools that lower the barrier to entry for anyone interested in making things, whether they’re art students or design students or engineering students or even entrepreneurs.”

Java-Based Robots

It’s easy to see why Oracle, the steward of the Java programming language, supports the Maker Movement. Java enables the emerging Internet of Things (IoT), which is beginning to impact our lives as devices become more intelligent, networked, and easily managed. Java’s functionality can be used to create new kinds of programmable devices, such as smart appliances, medical sensors, smart meters, wearable computers, 3-D printers, and robots.

At MakerCon, Java champion Vinicius Senger said it’s a great time for Java developers to explore and experiment with the Internet of Things. “The great thing about working with embedded is that there are endless possibilities,” Senger said. “For instance, I like home information [systems] and robotics.”

Senger credits Oracle for its engagement with the Java community and its ability to foster change. “Oracle is making the VM work very well on different types of computers and boards,” said Senger. “Their work with the embedded space and the IoT community has been excellent. Oracle is learning from the community, and the community is learning from Oracle.”

Maker Faire had more than 1,100 maker entries this year, featuring 3D imaging and printing, robots, wearable software, art cars, kinetic art, gadgets, alternative energy, games, electronics, computers, and more. It exemplified the maker credo: If it can be imagined, it can be made.

Maker Faire Bay Area 2014, Photo: Oracle

The expo hall buzzed with activity, contraptions, and machines of all sizes. Robot-maker Dan Royer of marginallyclever.com wryly insisted that his goal is to build an automated factory and put it on the Moon.

“My most popular creation for schools is a mural-drawing robot called Makelangelo,” said Royer. “You take a picture from the Internet or your phone and convert it in two seconds with the Java software that talks with GCode–the language of 3d printers–to send messages to the Arduino platform, which moves the motors and drives the pen around the board.”

All of his image conversion styles, window management, 3D management, and other programs are done with Java. “I use Java in just about everything I make,” Royer said. “It takes care of so many things for me so I don’t have to think about them.”

The Maker Movement keeps rolling in the months ahead. Maker Faires will take place in Paris and Kansas City in June and in Trondheim, Norway, in August. The 2014 World Maker Faire will take place in New York in September.

MakerCon, Photo: Oracle

Timothy Beneke is a freelance writer and editor. His articles on a wide range of topics have appeared in many publications, including Mother Jones, the East Bay ExpressExpress, and Java Magazine.

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